Basically, nurses, therapists, physician assistants, etc are subject to the same type of sanctions that apply to physicians. In other words, you can be sanctioned for incompetence, sexual boundary violations, substance abuse issues and any other behavioral or professional misconduct.
If you are a nurse, the Department of Education, Office of Professional Discipline (OPD), will be the body you will be dealing with. In you are a physician assistant, the Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) will be the investigating body. The difficulties that these investigations bring up are the same as both OPD and OPMC are quite experienced at getting to the bottom of an issue and both can, among other things, revoke your license to practice.
Of course, any issue might also become the subject of an investigation by the hospital or other health care facility where you might be working. In fact, an inquiry by your employer might be even more of a problem as there the people know you and there may be turf war issues, departmental jealousies, personal likes and dislikes, etc. These extraneous issues do not come into play with the State investigations. So, if you are the subject of a hospital investigation, be sure you have the proper representation and try to end that inquiry before it gets out of hand. If you are officially sanctioned at your hospital that fact often is a reportable event to the Department of Health or the Department of Education. That reporting can then start an official inquiry, something you do not want to have happen.
This informational video was brought to you by Paul E. Walker, an experienced New York City Medical Professional Defense Lawyer.
